


The Survivors

by GabeCarter



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 2014!endverse, Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe - Croatoan/Endverse, Angst, Drug Addiction, End!verse, M/M, Original Character(s), Revenge, Self-Destruction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-16
Updated: 2014-05-16
Packaged: 2018-01-25 09:19:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1643555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GabeCarter/pseuds/GabeCarter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is a canon-diverge fic for end!verse. It has little references to actual canon events referring to the chapter 5x04 The End, and it includes canon character (i.e. Castiel and Dean) as secondary. This fic only serves as extended biographies for Original Characters that belong to Camp Chitaqua for my Indie RP Blog. Each chapter refers to one member of the camp or "Survivor". There's a lot of Destiel here, only addressed from the OC's POVs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Survivors

**Author's Note:**

> Patrick "Rick" Aldrige is a hunter that has survived the Croatoan infection during the Apocalypse. He meets Dean Winchester and Castiel, he joins their camp, he starts to hate them, and eventually gets the revenge that he was looking for. He has a complicated relationship with the fearless leader and the junkie. This is how and why he loathes them. This is how he watched them change, and changed himself in the process.
> 
> This character is one that my RP partner and I use a lot on tumblr, especially because he creates very good conflicts between Dean and Cas. I wanted to give him a deeper story than just being an asshole to the both of them. So here it is.

  
  


The blonde man was done with the interrogation, it had been dragged for hours and yet the fucking demon was not giving out anything. Rick was not unfamiliar with torture, but even his dire methods proved unproductive against her. He was already chanting the exorcism spell when the door was knocked down. A tall man entered the small apartment with a gun facing forwards, it took one second before the canon was pointed in his direction and Rick responded by threatening with a knife. He just wasn't fast enough to draw his own gun.

"Winchester?" Rick asked in confusion. The Winchester brothers were renown among the hunter community, even the newbies were educated in that name rather fast, though Rick was far from being a newbie.

Dean didn't flinch an inch, though his eyes hinted surprise at the mention of his name, "Do I know you?"

"Nah," Rick replied calmly if a little sarcastic, seemingly unaltered by the gun pointed at his head, "but everyone knows you. You and your brother." Because by now —when the world was panicking thanks to the demons populating the streets like it was a parade— most hunters were becoming aware that the Apocalypse had started, and that the Winchesters had a major fault to it.

Dean tightened his grip on the gun at the mention of Sam; and then another man crossed the threshold, "The building's clear," a gruff voice invaded the room, "I found no other trace of demons," then those intense blue eyes landed on Rick, who felt a shiver run up his spine, there was something in those eyes, it wasn't exactly terrifying as it was intimidating, and yet Rick felt suddenly altered. Cas squinted to examine him further.

"This is the only one left," Rick admitted; his eyes firmly set on the stranger. He knew for a fact that this was not Sam Winchester.

Castiel looked over Rick's shoulder, towards the woman chained to a chair at the center of a devil's trap. Dean was the first one to speak again, "Move," he commanded, "we got some questions for our friend here."

Rick's attention got drawn back to the man right in front of him, none of them had moved an inch except for that mysterious stranger that randomly decided to step in and move towards the demon, Dean extended one of his hands away from the gun and up to his side to stop Castiel from following through. It could've been a small chance for Rick to draw his own gun but he was smart enough not to take chances against a Winchester, instead he lowered his knife, taking a better approach at the confrontation at hand, "what kind of questions?"

"Nothing that concerns you." Dean's voice was still cold and threatening despite Rick's submission, "now move or I'll have to go through you."

"Dean," Cas' voice was heard once more, it was somehow soothing for Rick, though it sounded more like a warning to the other hunter, who glared at Cas with furious defiance in his eyes, "we still need people to help, there's no need for threats."

Looking back, this was the first time that Rick ever noticed something else going between Dean and Castiel, though at the time he didn't really pay attention to it; right then he simply saw a man trying to be rational with a friend that had anger management issues. Dean didn't lower his gun, but at least the grip he had on it was less probable to pull the trigger.

"Why are you here?" Cas addressed Rick.

Somehow he found the courage to stand up against this stranger, "Nothing that concerns you," he quoted Dean.

Cas took a step closer to him, ignoring Dean's wary hand gesture, "This demon may have valuable information. Have you got what wanted from her?" his voice sounded agitated, like this was an important task that couldn't wait, yet he emanated a calm aura.

Rick was a reasonable man, and knew how to pick his battles, right there he didn't have the upper hand so he sighed in defeat, "Not really, but I doubt you can get anything from her." He stepped aside and Cas strode further inside to interrogate the demon.

"You and I need to have a little talk outside," Dean said while waving his gun to order Rick to get out. Months later Rick would question if this move was because he ogled Cas a little more than necessary or if it was because Dean didn't wanted him to know that Cas was an angel. It didn't really matter nowadays. He already knew it was both.

 

* * *

 

Rick didn't particularly liked the original blueprints for Camp Chitaqua or the idea of belonging there but, strategically speaking, it was the smartest move and his best chance of survival. So he agreed to stay and even put his two cents into the planning of the Camp. He guessed him and Dean would've gotten along fairly well if it wasn't for the fact that he questioned the fearless leader in several matters, he defied the other hunter's authority and —what is possibly one major strain between them— he blatantly flirted with Castiel. Of course, at the time Rick didn't know that he was an angel, so he was only looking at the exterior: handsome face, breath-taking eyes, kind heart, and a wise personality if a little anti-social.

It became easier to relate with Castiel, the man had insightful opinions and advises for Rick whenever he approached to have a small talk. Admittedly there was some undertone conflict between them because of Rick's habit of disagreeing with Dean, but otherwise they grew close until the moment when he found out Cas was an angel.

It was an average day, Rick got waken up to Dean's rough voice calling all survivors to work. The camp was only three months old and there was still so much to do. Habitually Dean sent him off with some other hunters (that Rick himself had recruited) to gather more supplies like food and water, medicine, guns and ammo —and if they were lucky, more survivors that could help them out—, he assumed it was because Dean hated having him around but Rick had no problem with it anyway. He actually preferred to raid abandoned super-markets than staying under the sun building cabins.

He didn't see Cas for two or three hours, which was very strange because that man was functioning as Dean's right hand most of the time, planing out the cabins, inventorying the materials they had versus the ones they needed, updating maps for hot zones, dead zones and supply zones, or whatever the hell they did on their free time when they thought no one was watching their interaction.

He did see Daniel though, cleaning his face from dirt and dry blood. It was too early for this guy to have gotten into a fist-fight with a demon or a Croat, so Rick took some time off to talk to him. The news started to travel fast after that. It wasn't a secret that most people hated angels, especially the hunters, they all had things to recriminate or feel vengeful for against those winged creatures. Rick had his own reasons to hate angels too.

So when Daniel told him about Cas being an angel, everything Rick had build with Castiel just went to the trash.

He found the ~~man~~ angel in Dean's cabin —a predictable location— healing from a stab wound that Daniel admitted he inflicted himself. It would've been easy to kill Cas right then and there, but instead he saw a broken, vulnerable, pathetic little _fallen angel_ that Rick just pitied.

"What are you doing here?" Cas asked quietly when he noticed the intrusion.

"I was looking for you," Rick answered with the most calmed tone he could muster. He wanted vengeance against **every** angel, Castiel was no exception now. This is why Rick was still waking up every day.

"You found me," Cas tried to laugh but ended up grunting in pain as the stab wound stroke a pain. Rick was angry, he couldn't understand how Cas could possibly try to stay friendly (like they usually were) when he knew exactly what had happened to his wife. "Is there anything you need?"

"I heard what happened," Rick was truly trying hard to mask his desire to kill Cas, yet the voice came out dark. He took a step closer and then a hand from behind pulled him roughly out of the cabin.

"Walk into my cabin like that again and it'll be the last time you walk." Dean grunted at him, pushing him away. Rick was glaring at him, Dean could recognize that murderous look in his eyes, and he knew what this was about. "You got something against Cas, you got something against me, got it?"

Rick stood more threateningly now, hands had turned into fists and shaking with rage. "That fucker-"

"That _fucker_ , has done more for humanity than you think. Whatever crap happened to you, has nothing to do with him."

"It's not just me, _Winchester_ ," Rick spit the name like an insult and pointed towards the cabin, "you do remember that angels need human bodies? Are you telling me Cas is not **abusing** that poor bastard's faith?"

Dean grimaced; a part of him felt guilty about Jimmy Novak, but it had been Jimmy's choice to say yes to Castiel even when he knew about the consequences, Cas didn't lie or make fake promises. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh I know pretty well," Ricks words were spiteful and melancholic at the same time, the type of voice Dean heard in many hunters that encountered the reason why they became hunters in the first place. Their revenge against one particular monster fueled them, and when they got the chance to kill it, they didn't stop. "It's not right to possess a human! They're no different than demons!"

Dean took a threatening step forward, pointing a finger at Rick, "You stay away from him, you hear me?"

"You defend him so much," Rick finally realized and driven by the heat of the moment, couldn't keep his mouth shut, "are you in love with him?"

Dean's jaw clenched and a fist finally connected Rick's face, "You can go back to work or take your bullshit somewhere else, try your luck with the Croats, I bet they'll take you right away." Then the man turned around and walked into the cabin.

That was the last time Rick tried a direct confrontation with Castiel and his ~~bodyguard~~ ~~boyfriend~~ fearless leader.

 

* * *

 

Rick's hatred didn't seem to defuse during the next weeks. In fact it increased when he noticed a flock of survivors meeting Castiel for some spiritual-crap lectures, bible passages, religious speeches, heavenly wisdom, whatever they wanted to call it it was just an excuse to find hope in a desolated world. Most of them seemed to forget that angels were the reason they were in this mess to begin with, though in all fairness Rick didn't blame them; they were the civilians after all, because all hunters were still on his side in despising Castiel. None of them made a move though, because they feared their leader well enough to stay down.

Rick on the other hand just wouldn't let it go, but being as smart as he was, he twisted his purpose a little bit more. He saw how _human_ Cas was becoming, how painfully broken and emotionally conflicted he was turning. How corruptible.

He faked forgiveness and comprehension in order to approach Castiel again. It was a lot easier when, after the main buildings were done, Cas got a cabin of his own without the intrusion of Dean Fucking Winchester every single second.

When Rick walked carefully into the newly built cabin, Cas looked friendly instead of resentful at him, if anyone in the camp could understand why Rick hated angels so much, that was Cas. A part of him shiver at that thought, like a deep part of his subconscious trying to dissuade him from perverting an angel to the point of destruction. That was until Cas spoke.

"I didn't think you'd talk to me again," the ~~man~~ **angel** looked at Rick over his shoulders from where he was crouching, trying to install the rusty sink they managed to retrieve.

"I didn't want to," Rick admitted, taking careful steps inside yet keeping a respectable distance. For some reason he expected to feel complete anger at the sight of Castiel but instead he felt calmed, not joyful or excited, just neutral.

Cas nodded and then stood up to greet the visitor with a glass of whiskey. Apparently Cas was already a recurrent drinker, so maybe Rick's mission wasn't going to be that hard after all. "I understand." Cas looked worse than he ever looked before. Apparently humanity was taking its toll on the fallen angel. His eyes looked saggy, his mouth looked dry and his eyes didn't shine as bright as they did when they first met. Cas was beyond broken now.

 _Excellent_.

"I understand revenge," Cas continued as he grabbed two clean glasses to pour alcohol for them both, "But you need to understand that I didn't ask your wife to be taken as vessels, nor your daughter. And I didn't leav-"

"I know that, Cas," Rick lied, because even when that was true, it didn't exactly mean Cas was free of guilt when it came to angelic crap that had been done to humans. He may have not known all the details but he knew Cas had done something wrong if he was now stuck with the mortals instead of dead, or back in heaven. "I guess it just took me some time to... realize that." At least it was easy to fool Castiel, he always had a kind heart that any good liar could take advantage of.

"I suppose I could've mentioned it before," Cas tried to lessen the tension with a small chuckle, but Rick's insides twisted at the sound of that laugh.

"Let's just start over," Rick stated firmly, changing the topic back to what he wanted, "how are you dealing with all this... human stuff?"

Cas squinted briefly before shining a big smile, "It's... chaotic," Cas talked like nothing had happened between them, and Rick was actually thankful for it.

Rick faked a grin, "Any pain?"

Cas looked away and sighed, grabbed his glass of whiskey and took a long sip before turning back to Rick with a different expression, fake but half-convincing, "I've been worse." Then he offered the other glass to Rick, who stepped more confidently into the cabin and took the alcohol from Cas' hands.

Rick looked idly at the glass, swinging the alcohol in circles, not really wanting to drink it right now. "Alcohol's a good medicine..." he begun his scripted speech, "but sometimes it's not enough to numb that emptiness inside you." Cas looked up to meet his eyes, there was something in them that Rick just pitied. _The angel needed understanding_. "Especially when you're alone with your thoughts and feelings... and your regrets." He knew this kind of speech, it was masked as pep talk but it truly only served to bring the other person down and down. Dragging them into your own abyss. "It gets harder, Cas. Being human is not easy."

"How do you deal with it?" Cas looked like a child right there, pathetically looking for answers that no one could give him.

"I don't," this time he was honest. Because what is a lie without at least some truth? "I take these," he took an orange bottle with pills in it.

Cas looked at the bottle like a frightened kitten, curious yet cautious. "What are they?"

"Antidepressants," Rick gave a once-over at the bottle. It had been ages since he took one of those before; and now suddenly he felt the need to take a couple. "After... you know... what happened to my family... I went to a psychologist. They prescribed me these to deal with that feeling of emptiness, of anger, of sadness..." He put the bottle on the kitchenette counter. "I guess you could try them."

"Drugs?"

Rick set his untouched glass down next to the pills and walked out of the cabin, "They're better than alcohol, that's for sure." He took some more steps and then thought about it twice. "Actually," he stopped to look at Cas over his shoulder and shoot a compassionate smile, "They work better **with** alcohol."

 

* * *

 

The next months were fun for Rick. Cas started with the antidepressants, but he wasn't sad all the time, he was also horny, and angry, and happy, and insomniac, and paranoid, and... well... he was a mess; and Rick seemed to have a perfect drug for every kind of mood swing that Cas experienced. So their relationship changed again, it wasn't friendship or companionship like it was before, and it wasn't hatred or resentment like Rick thought it was. They fell into a new chemistry of the dealer-junkie kind. Cas asked for more drugs, Rick got off at making fun of how pathetic he was.

Additionally, Rick had grown more and more aware of how Cas worked when it came to the fearless leader. That relationship was also sickening and toxic, and it did nothing but increase Cas' appetite for drugs. And once they were both intoxicated and high, they'd fuck. Rick would hear the name "Dean" coming up once or twice during their encounters but he got a laugh at it and kept slut-shaming the fallen angel while he pounded hard into him.

Rick didn't want to admit how twisted he was around Castiel. All he wanted was to denigrate him more and more, and Cas just stood there and took it like he was meant for it. So worthless, so shameful. Apparently Dean used to do the same to the angel because Cas didn't flinch whenever Rick forced himself into the angel while he was snorting a line of coke or shooting up heroin into his veins.

Cas loved the drugs. Cas embraced the pain. Cas hated himself.

And Rick loved to bring Cas down to that point.

Dean never confronted Rick again, because he wasn't the only one Cas was sleeping with. His "meditation" group had turned into orgies. Rick was just one more. That didn't mean that the hunter and the fearless leader got along at all. Rick felt sorry for Dean, another pitiful soul that was in love with a broken mess, who didn't even know how to help Castiel. So if Dean couldn't help his best friend, how did he expect to help the whole humanity?

With that in mind, Rick lost respect to the both of them.


End file.
